Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $333.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $247.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.32. The company has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.39. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $186.05 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%.The firm had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,319,000 after acquiring an additional 15,950 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43,338 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 181,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,624,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,718,000 after purchasing an additional 112,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cormorant Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at $21,324,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a Denmark‐based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for rare endocrine diseases. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Hellerup, the company leverages its proprietary TransCon drug delivery platform to create long‐acting prodrugs designed to improve safety, efficacy and patient convenience. Ascendis Pharma maintains research and development operations in Europe and the United States, with clinical studies spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

The company’s lead product, lonapegsomatropin (Skytrofa®), is a once‐weekly growth hormone therapy approved by the U.S.